Shloka 20
भीष्मद्रोणयोर्दुर्योधनं प्रति शान्त्युपदेशः | Bhīṣma and Droṇa’s Counsel to Duryodhana for Pacification
यावनाथौ चरिष्येते त्वया नाथेन दुर्हदा । हतमित्रौ हतामात्यौ लूनपक्षाविवाण्डजौ
yāvanāthau cariṣyete tvayā nāthena durhṛdā | hatamitrau hatāmātyau lūnapakṣāv ivāṇḍajau ||
যতদিন তারা দু’জন রক্ষকহীন হয়ে তোমার মতো নির্দয় অভিভাবকের অধীনে বেঁচে থাকবে—মিত্রহীন, মন্ত্রীহীন—ততদিন তারা হবে কাটা ডানার দুই পাখির মতো, অসহায় ও নিষ্ক্রিয়।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical failure of ‘protection’ that is hostile in intent: when those who should be safeguarded are placed under an ill-wisher, they become effectively incapacitated—stripped of support, counsel, and agency—like birds whose wings are cut.
Vaiśampāyana describes a situation in which two persons, lacking true protectors and forced to live under a hostile authority, are portrayed as politically and practically powerless—having lost allies and ministers—using the vivid simile of wing-clipped birds.